HEAD COACH ZACH BARLOW

Zach Barlow enters his fifth season as the head coach of University of Michigan men's golf program. A Big Ten veteran as a golfer and assistant, Barlow has continue to shape his Wolverine culture and program throughout his half decade in Ann Arbor.

Navigating the global coronavirus pandemic throughout his first two seasons, Barlow guided Charlie Pilon to his second individual title (2019 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate) in his first season, while helping Brent Ito earn All-Big Ten second team honors during his career-best senior season. After averaging a career-low 72.67 per round, Ito saw the remainder of his senior campaign canceled due to COVID-19. Despite the shortened season, Ito added PING All-Midwest team honors. With COVID-19 canceling the 2020 fall season, Barlow's Wolverines returned in the spring and played six events.

Over the past two seasons, Barlow has posted 10 top five finishes over 23 events, tying for the team title in 2022 and earning a runner-up finish in 2023 at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate as well as winning the 2023 Big Ten Match Play Championship after knocking off the top three seeds No. 2 Michigan State (3.5-1.5), No. 3 Indiana (3-2) and No. 1 Northwestern (3-2). The Wolverines have been led by Hunter Thomson and Will Anderson during the last two years as the duo has combined to finish as the top Wolverine in 18 of 23 events.

Thomson helped the Maize and Blue to its second Big Ten Match Play title after going a perfect 4-0 and leading the team in scoring as a freshman (73.09) and sophomore (72.81). Anderson has remained steady with his play averaging 73.49 during the two-year span, adding his first career title at the 2021 Macdonald Cup (204, -6). Overall, Thomson and Anderson have combined for 53 rounds at-or-below par, including 37 sub-par tallies. Anderson highlighted his play firing a 64 (-8) at the 2023 Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate, while Thomson carded a 66 (-4) in the second round of the 2021 Macdonald Cup.

Prior to taking over the Wolverine program, Barlow served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois, helping coach Mike Small to five consecutive Big Ten titles, three NCAA regional championships, five consecutive NCAA Finals and moving on to the NCAA match play semifinal three times.

A finalist for the Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year during the 2018-19 campaign, Barlow was part of 31 team titles during his tenure, including a school-record nine tournament wins during the 2014-15 season and again in 2015-16.

In total, five different Illinois golfers earned 10 All-America citations, while 10 were awarded 21 All-Big Ten first- or second-team accolades. Barlow has coached three Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholars and had 15 Academic All-Big Ten awards by nine different golfers. Additionally, eight players earned 17 PING All-Midwest Region honors during his five seasons with the Fighting Illini.

Barlow helped four Big Ten Players of the Year in Thomas Detry (2015), Charlie Danielson (2016), Dylan Meyer (2017) and Nick Hardy (2018). He guided Hardy (2015, '18), Detry (2016), Meyer (2017) and Adrien Dumont de Chassart (2019) to five straight Big Ten medalist honors at the conference championships. Hardy (2015) and Michael Feagles (2017) were also chosen as the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year.

A two-time PING All-Midwest Region selection himself, Barlow was part of two Big Ten championship teams in 2009 and 2010 during his four-year collegiate career at Illinois (2007-10). He was an All-Big Ten second team pick in 2010 and finished his career with the eighth-lowest stroke average (74.06) in school history. He was the medalist at the 2008 Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational and the 2009 Marshall Invitational.

While at Illinois, Barlow was a member of the Illini Leadership Academy, both in the emerging leaders program as an underclassman and in the veteran leaders program as an upperclassman.

Prior to his return to Illinois, Barlow spent a year as a teaching professional at Kokopelli Golf Course in Marion, Illinois, in 2013-14, while also playing professionally on the eGolf and NGA Tours. Still active on those tours, he played in nine events in 2012 and competed in the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Additionally, he was the 2008 Illinois State Amateur champion and advanced to the championship match of the 2009 Western Amateur. During his prep career at Trico High School, Barlow won the 2003 IHSA Class A state title as a junior. He won the 2012 U.S. Open local qualifier in St. Louis and advanced out of the U.S. Open local qualifier in 2013 with a third-place finish.

In 2022, Barlow and his wife, Abby, welcome daughter Shay.